The Anatomy of a Curve Ball

In honor of the World Series (which I understand is being contested now between two teams indistinguishable from Yankees, regardless of what they’re called, and thus is of absolutely no consequence to your scribe) here’s an analysis of why a well-pitched curve ball is the stuff of batters’ nightmares. The animated visual is particularly remarkable.

The linked post postulates that there are two aspects of a curve ball that confound batters. There is an actual physical phenomenon that causes the ball to move along a non-straight route, but its trickiness is compounded by a perceptual trick that exaggerates the effect for batters. I wonder if the better hitters are able to either compensate for or completely overcome this perceptual “puzzle.”

I wouldn’t know, personally, because the curve ball is only one of a long list of pitches I cannot now and never could hit.